Training or Social Exclusion: Competences for the Social Inclusion of Groups at Risk

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of ongoing research on the integration of groups at risk of exclusion, in order to facilitate decision-making processes that allow their consideration by social protection mechanisms. The main objectives of the research were to 000construct tools to explore and assess entry to the workforce based on skills training and risk factors. Study participants comprised groups using services in the area provided by Social Action, which included women at risk, people with disabilities, immigrants, ethnic minorities, present and former drug addicts, and other groups such as homeless people. The methodology is qualitative, through ethnographic fieldwork. We conclude that, unlike poverty and marginalisation, which manifest as an economic deficit and thus may be tackled by economic measures, social exclusion corresponds to a social deficit. Exclusion produces deficits in terms of social cohesion, in which factors related to training and the skills acquired play an essential role.